Polyjuice Imposters
by ProfessorSinistra
Summary: AU. Warning: This fic is not about Harry. When a wizard reaveals a secret known to few others, he gives the bright side a weapon in the fight against Voldemort.
1. The End (or so it seems...)

A/N: Okay, this is my first fic ever

A/N: Okay, this is my first fic ever. I tried one earlier in the year, but it was crap. Most characters and phrases belong to J.K. Rowling and the HP publisher, so don't sue! The few that don't are names I created. My special thanks goes to JuanitaSongfalls, aka Moosey, aka Gishew, as the list goes on. Not only did she introduce me and get me interested to ff.net, but she actually reads my story and gives me advice, as well as creating a long list of names for made-up characters to help me since yours truly couldn't do create a decent name to save my life. All the weird jokes only we get are all for you! In the series, there will be a few Buffy quotes, since that is my favorite show [along with CSI, but that had nothing to do with the fic]. Anyway, you can read her incredibly good stories on the site. Thanks also to Winter, Jills, and all my other friends. Oh, and to Matt, too, for actually boosting my confidence with lying that the story was half decent. It was nice of you until you said you didn't want to read it anymore. I appreciate it anyway!  
  
A/N: Italics and asterisks indicate the past, or a trip down memory lane for significant character of the moment, just in case you get confused. Please review, I need a lot of direction to get this story going!   
  
  
  
...And Harry ran as he had never run in his life, knocking two stunned Death Eaters aside as he passed; he zigzagged headstones, feeling their curses follow him, hearing them hit the headstones- he was dodging curses and graves, pelting towards Cedrics body, no longer aware of the pain in his leg, his whole being concentrated on what he had to do-  
  
"Stand aside! I will kill him! He is mine!" shrieked Voldemort. Harry's hand closed on Cedric's wrist; but Cedric was too heavy to carry-  
  
Harry's scream echoed dismally in the cemetery. His hand scraped the Triwizard cup, but it was too late. The rush of speeding death was upon him, green light-  
  
  
  
Dumbledore awoke from his nightmare of a daydream, or, rather, perhaps you would call it a daymare. He found himself standing in a midst of a throng of people, frantically scrambling around in the ensuing chaos. Snapping back to action, he ordered the teachers about him to separate the students back in to their houses. He needed to think. Moody, where was Moody, he had some serious questions to ask him, or rather, the fake impostor of Moody. Dumbledore was finishing to puzzle out his unique and troubling reverie. He knew now the truth about Moody. the plans of the Dark Lord, he just only hoped his connection had turned in to a fictional nightmare where Harry was concerned. If Moody escaped-  
  
Screams emanated all about. The news traveled like wildfire. Where was Dumbledore? Professor McGonagall rushed up to him.  
  
"Albus!" Her face showed exasperated relief, but then that quickly faded to anguished sorrow.  
  
"Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory, headmaster, they're back and-" she choked-  
  
"Say no more Minerva. I feared as much." Dumbledore replied, but all the same, the twinkling light that usually shone brilliantly out of his eyes, illuminating the world around him and his interest in it, seemed to have died. He struggled to hide his true feelings inside. He had to be strong as the leader in this situation. The two of them rushed over to the spot where the bodies had reappeared after almost an hour of anxiety over where the two had disappeared. Dumbledore choked down convulsive sobs- they had been the two brightest boys at Hogwarts, destined to lead great lives, fulfilled with destiny. Hysterical crying and shouting ensued all about him, more melancholy than a few minutes before. Dumbledore cleared his throat and whispered,  
  
"Sonorus."  
  
"Attention, everyone. Please, with the aid of the prefects and Head Boy and Girl will you all please make your way back to your houses and common rooms. All teachers, please assemble with me."  
  
Everybody ran all about, trying to organize themselves. As soon as all but one of the teachers was gathered around Dumbledore, he announced,  
  
"Find Moody. If you have not located him within 10 minutes, assemble in front of the entrance to my office immediately." Yet even as they scurried off to do his bidding, he had the sinking feeling that Moody was already gone. He could sense it. As he methodically began his search of the building, cataclysmic with anguished students, he thought about his vision. It had began with Harry and Voldemort in a domed web of light as if he, himself, was actually there. There were smoky looking figures, ghosts of the people Voldemort had most recently murdered. Both Harry and the Dark Lord had looks of fear displayed on their faces. Moody- Moody had been acting strangely all year, and Dumbledore knew it wasn't his abnormal dustbins- no, now he knew Moody was the faithful Dark Lord servant at Hogwarts. Who was Moody really? There wasn't any time for Dumbledore to fathom out that particular mystery at the moment. It didn't matter. They would be told or find out themselves soon enough. Whoever they were- they had to be stopped. With the faint chance that Voldemort did not yet know of Harry's death [as Voldemort's Killing Curse obviously killed him right as he grasped the Triwizard Cup- his servant could not be allowed to let that invaluable piece of information leak. As Dumbledore rounded the bend in the corridor, he found all of the other professors already there, waiting for him. He cleared his throat.  
  
"Professors, we are indeed in grave trouble." As he proceeded to fill them in on the details of Voldemort's evil plot, he began talking automatically as he floated back to the past and happy memories long gone from the terror to be overcome in the present moment.  
  
******  
  
James and Lily, Remus, Sirius, and all the rest of some of his favorite crowd to enjoy the company of [ an odd way to phrase that, but he thought naught of it at the time]. They were so happy, lively, beautiful in their own special way. It saddened his heart that three out of the four people in that picture were dead in the wizarding world 20 years later. And Lily. Lily. Oh, God, she was beautiful, with her copper hair, shining like the intense fire of the sun on an unbearable hot summer day. She hadn't deserved to die, but to save her son, she had. That son, who had only been bought 14 years of time. He loved her almost like a father, willing to die to protect her. It was time.  
  
******  
  
Dumbledore felt a big weight being lifted off of his shoulders, a weight bearing down on him every day for years. As he finished telling of what was happening, he added,  
  
"And I have one more thing to tell you all. I hired you because you are special, you did your duty, and would always pledge against Voldemort with your lives."  
  
Several people squirmed slightly at the name, but said nothing and remained serious. Dumbledore continued.  
  
"I- am not who I appear to be. For almost 16 years now, I have hidden my true identity- Professor Flitwick, it is time, do not stop me, I must explain. As many of you know, the real Dumbledore was honest, courageous, and willing to die for those who were his friends- and even some who weren't. Well, he helped me far beyond anything else, and gave me the greatest gift anyone can ever give or receive- the gift of life. We were dependent on each other. Dumbledore had me as his Secret Keeper for the Fidelius Charm. It was controllable- he could be visible or not whenever he pleased. We were also both on the Polyjuice Potion- we took on each other's appearances. During the day, we trained ourselves to be one another. After dark, we resumed ourselves. It was when we were about to switch, back on that fateful day- when Voldemort showed up at where Dumbledore was and killed him. Dumbledore barely fought, for if he used the true power he possessed it would give away our secret. By a weird constrictment on the 2 charms being used together and Dumbledore dying in my appearance, I have only needed to take the potion once a day, instead of every hour, to keep my image of Dumbledore intact. I assure you, we both had enough of the other's hair to probably last us the rest of our lives. But now, the time has come for me to reveal to you who I truly am, to better do the work Dumbledore sacrificed his own and saved my life to do. My real identity must be kept a secret, now that I have divulged it to you. It will be so much easier that way. I will be changing any minute. Professor Flitwick has kindly helped me all these years with his expansive knowledge on charms."  
  
Flitwick gulped. Before their very eyes, the man they thought was Dumbledore for so many years began changing in to another being. When the transformation was complete, they gasped.  
  
Flitwick cleared his throat. "Our conqueror against the Dark Lord is alive and risen again."  
  



	2. A Revelation

A/N: Okay, Part 2 has taken like, a month, to get up

A/N: Okay, Part 2 has taken like, a month, to get up. My apologies [Poppy]. It's considerably longer than Part 1 [at least, I think so] and should explain a good chunk of the plot. Thanks to everybody who reviewed, it made my job a lot more pleasant and easier. Special thanks to Juanita for posting my fics for me 'cuz my dang Mac can't post on fanfiction.net. Here goes!   
  
  
"He's the only one who can stop the Dark Lord." Flitwick sounded exasperated.  
  
"But, but, after all these years!" Minerva McGonagall gasped. "It's just... so... shocking."  
  
"I know, I know."  
  
"But..." Flitwick continued, "the hardest part is still in front of us. James is our spear, our cannon, our main- and most importantly- secret weapon. We will fight He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named with all of our power. James, here-" he nodded towards him-" is the last, and most powerful of Slytherin's descendents, besides The Dark One, that is. He must be the one to kill him, or the Dark Lord will never be truly defeated."  
  
"How?" Professor Sinistra whispered, her voice barely audible.  
  
"We're not exactly sure... yet. We'll find a way." Flitwick looked alarmed suddenly as he turned and saw the glazed look on James' face.  
  
******  
  
James was flying high, and fast. He glanced behind him, and swore. The Gryffindor Quidditch team, reserves, and all, were playing a scrimmage. Lily Evans Archenemy #2, second only to Severus Snape, had just [expertly, as he had to admit] swung a bludger to pelt directly at him.  
  
"Shoot!" He swerved dangerously, narrowly avoiding the speeding black cannonball, and, in that moment, he spotted Ernest Higglesworth speeding towards the ground at breakneck speed, reaching out his hand. James turned and spurred his Silver Arrow 3500 as fast as possible towards the reserve seeker, but he knew his efforts were fruitless. Cheers rang and echoed through the dismal field. James glared at Lily. He really, REALLY hated that girl. In a flash, after they had landed, James was all over her, strangling her, but briefly, as not to do permanent damage [though he wanted to] and hurt her badly enough to be expelled. As soon as he let go of her, though, she threw him a punch across the face that stung. She had a good arm from wielding the bludger bat. Without a moment's hesitation, they were rolling on the ground, a mad scuffle of swinging arms. Madame Hooch came running over, pulling them off one another. James had a cut lip and a nasty gash above his eyebrow. Lily was suffering a bad bruise across her cheek and a cut on her arm. They surveyed one another, giving each other a look of utmost loathing, but, as the Gryffindor Quidditch Capt. Quentin Carmichael replied,  
  
"If looks could kill, James would be a goner."  
  
"To the Headmaster's office. NOW."  
  
Lily and James were marched to Dumbledore's office, watched by a myriad of expressions.  
  
As they entered the room, Dumbledore smiled and chuckled.   
  
"No need to ask, Ms. Evans and Mr. Potter. Please sit down whilst I arrange your punishments. I would think by your 5th year, you would know better,especially you, James. My impression of teenage boys was to try to snag girls, not beat them up. You won't be impressing any of them if you are too busy beating up Lily, while she mercilessly attacks back."  
  
James was utterly embarrassed, but Lily looked smitten, full of contempt.  
  
"You two will be assigned to the tethering of a slightly deranged and escaped hippogriff. Together, yes, and 10 points from Gryffindor."  
  
"But-"  
  
"Professor, please-"  
  
"Nothing to be done about it. If you would kindly meet Ogg at the south side of the lake near his cabin at midnight, I would be appreciative. Oh, and don't go pulling one of your shameless pranks either, both of you. I won't have Mistress Pomfrey tending to braids transfigured in to snakes-" he glanced at James- "or have students reporting squid tentacles hanging from their beds." Lily reddened.  
  
  
  
Sirius was rolling on the floor, laughing out loud. James was fuming. Not only had his best friend witnessed the escapade on the Quidditch field, but he had seen Professor Poplin, master of Potions class, mercilessly pair them for a project in the class, with a smile. Sirius had reason to believe that Dumbledore had given the teachers special orders to make the loathing duo as miserable as possible.  
  
James picked him up by the neck, breathing fire, and threw Sirius a nasty punch that stung like heck.  
  
"What did you do that for?!"  
  
" 'Cause you're being the black hairy bottom of a jackrabbit [A/N: Okay folks, take a moment to figure out what I'm implying there]!"  
  
Sirius simply stood there and laughed.  
  
"Have fun tonight!"  
  
James groaned. He had completely forgotten his punishment in the Forbidden Forest over the embarrassment and grief his friends were giving him, as well as a good many other Gryffindors. Tonight was not going to be fun. At all.  
  
  
  
Traveling down to the edge of the forest with Lily, James yawned.  
  
"Tired, are you? Maybe you'll be good bait for the ghastly beast!"  
  
"I am not fat!" James drew himself up in defense.  
  
"I wasn't talking about that, though, now that you say so..."  
  
"Just shut up." They had reached Ogg's cabin. He stood outside of it, grinning at the though of being relieved of unpleasant duties. He was obviously a bit drunk as well. In fact, he had been known to provoke or advise irritated students to pull pranks or start fights with one another he knew they would get caught doing so many times, so that he had much free time to himself in his gamekeeping duties.  
  
"Ready?! You two will be having loads of fun tonight!" Ogg lead them around to where a path made an eerie opening in to the army of trees awaiting them. He handed them each a magical whistle, which acted as a compass towards one another when they blew it if they got lost, and a large tether, which Lily made James haul over his shoulder. Ogg sent them packing with a cheery, if somewhat dizzy, wave and a toothy grin.  
  
Ambling through the foliage, Lily and James kept their eyes peeled for any sign of the hippogriff. All of a sudden, James, with a grunt, dropped the tightly coiled tether.   
  
"Go on ahead. I'll catch up with you in a minute."  
  
"Okay." Lily's voice wavered a bit.   
  
"Scared?"  
  
"Not one bit." She said with defiance. She turned back and made her way forward through the overgrown path. A few minutes later, though, James wasn't with her again. She grew worried.  
  
"James? Hey, James?! Where are you?" She called out.   
  
*****  
  
He crept past the cabin, his intentions utterly evil. He heard Ogg singing inside in a loud and drunken voice, a dirty ditty he had obviously picked up in an Irish pub. Sneaking in to the forest he took the path he had watched them travel down. This would be entertaining. Only a moment of surprise would it take to get the reaction he suspected would occur."  
  
" Aarrrrggghhh!" James screamed, dropped the rope, and ran forward, blowing on the whistle, feeling its magnetic pull, and not looking back. At the same time, Lily made up her mind and was just turning back to James when she was jerked forward. She could feel the whistle humming in her hand.  
  
SMACK! they ran headlong in to one another.  
  
With much difficulty, James uttered,   
  
"That- was- painful."  
  
"And the world has been given another piece of informational crap."  
  
"Shove it!"  
  
"Up yours? I'd be more than glad to."  
  
"Ahem. Cough. Cough." James and Lily looked up synonymously and apprehensively. Standing there was Sirius.   
  
"YOU! Why, you bugger!"  
  
"...And you didn't expect me to tag along and watch the action on your first date, did you?"  
  
"My first...what?! Why don't you stuff yourself up somewhere that you belong?"   
  
"Touchy, touchy, aren't we, Prongs, my friend? Then why, may I ask, are you lying in the configuration you are?" He was utterly calm, but barely suppressing insane laughter.  
  
They gawked at each other. Indeed, it was a rather odd and suspicious way for them to be lying on the ground, with James having bowled Lily over in their panic and was now lying on top of her, his arms on her abdomen to keep himself from falling on her any further. He quickly jumped up off of her. He looked sheepish, while Lily looked annoyed.  
  
"Well, now that I've had my fun, I'll just leave you two to yourselves."  
  
"Yeah, your fun, I was just planning on running up behind Lily myself and getting a good scare out of her."  
  
"Just what makes you so certain I would have been scared?! I could smell right through your little scheme there."  
  
"Yeah, with the honker you've got."  
  
"Oh, really?!"  
  
"Yeah!"  
  
"Sure, are you?!"  
  
"Positive."  
  
They went on arguing on this tangent for some time, and Sirius, in his usual sarcastic humor, made the occasional stupid comment.  
  
"Just why don't you go back to the common room so James and I can finish the work we set out- or, rather- were sent out to do?"  
  
Sirius snickered.  
  
"It's really not so-" she gasped- "SIRIUS!"  
  
Siruis leapt around in time just to see a bright flush of feathers and steely talons before they leapt upon him. All 3 screamed. Lil fumbled with her wand, dropped it, but James yelled,  
  
"Stuepefy!" The hippogriff froze, but it was too late.   
  
"NO!" James and Lily rushed over to Sirius and the hippogriff, still bleed profusely though he was obviously dead from bites and being torn to shreds. His abdomen was slashed open, and Lily recoiled at the disgusting sight of his small intestine. James wailed in agony. Lily was his best friend, and had even been nice to her occasionally- and he was good looking, too.  
  
But through the trees, something rustled as if a cloak was running over the ground covered with dead leaves. A voice, hissing an d barely audible, whispered,  
  
"Your gift is death, James Potter! The Dark Lord will rise again, through his heir, and only another with blood links through misconception, can stop him. You too will die, James Potter."  
  
"MOSMORDRE!" With another pop, both the owner of the voice and the hippogriff disappeared. Above the two, the Dark Mark shone in the sky like a neon sign to a very, very bad bar. Lily sobbed.  
  
"I'm scared, James. What is he going to do to us?"  
  
"I don't know." In less than 5 minutes, the girl he had hated for 5 years had become his sole comfort in the world. "I don't know- but I'll protect you." He lifted her face with his finger to look in to his, and, suddenly, he wondered why he could have ever not found her quite so beautiful. Softly he pressed his lips to hers, and an electrifying sensation rippled throughout his whole being. The kiss became more passionate as they melted in to the night.  
  
******  
  
"First thing we will have to do to plan an army is make alliances with the giants and other current rebels of the Ministry. We can't let the Dark Side rope them in."  
  
"What are we supposed to do- send an emissary to them?!" Cornelius Fudge, arriving on the scene, berated.  
  
"What else?"  
  
"I...I... have never been quite so astounded and perturbed in my life!" He stormed off as angrily as he had in.  
  
"Well, I suppose we'll have to do without him. Fetch Hagrid for me, if you will. He will be our ambassador to the giants. I'll need Arthur and Molly Weasley, Remus Lupin, Arabella Figg, you know the gang, Flitwick. It's time we take some action. Voldemort will be collecting his allies now, and we need to fortify our defenses."  
  
"Shouldn't we attack?"  
  
"No. We'll let him make a stab at us, and them we will know how to flush him out in the future."  
  
"Severus-" he paused momentarily at the look of Snape's utter loathing, but, with a mix of admiration and subordination with it on his face- "Severus, I will need you to begin brewing all the Polyjuice and Veritaserum as you can. Flitwick, and Minerva, I'll need you up in my office. Sibyl, please retire in to your quarters and divinate to your limits. Any knowledge you can glean fo us would be greatly appreciated. The rest of you, please return to your houses and calm the students. After that, proceed to searching and investigating the grounds of Hogwarts."  
  
As the professors attended to their tasks, Potter climbed the stairs to his- the Headmaster's- office. Horace and McGonagall trailed behind him.  
  
"Hagrid will meet with me after we finish discussing... the matters of state. Minerva-" he paused and looked at her- "Horace and I have much to tell you. He is a lot further in on this plot than you may think.   
  
"Well, he realized a long time ago that, from doing research in the library and from my special characteristics and powers- I am no ordinary wizard. I am a descendant from both Slytherin and Gryffindor."  
  
"How did you find that out?"  
  
"Well, there was information that somewhere along the Slytherin line there was an unknown bastard. No one knew of this daughter's true heritage, but apparently she married a descendant of the great Godric." Flitwick continued on James' line of thought.  
  
"Because of this, he has a link to channeling the powers of both founders. We aren't sure who, or where, the illegitimate child is in the lines. We might try to find that out. It could be hundreds of years back, or James' own grandmother."  
  
"I don't think that's nearly as important as figuring out what we are going to do against him. Personally, I feel that we need to rally allies first, then attack."  
  
"But, Minerva, I think striking first while the iron's hot, before they are prepared, will throw them for a loop. We have to admit that when both sides are fortified, they will number greater."  
  
"Oh, really?! Well-"  
  
"Quiet, Minerva, James. If there is one thing that my height has taught me, it is that the obvious advantage is not always the best. especially when you used to have that obvious advantage, but are now supplemented with the stronger one. They may have the numbers, but we have the power. We are better trained to fight their kind, evil and darkness. They don't teach you, "Defense Against the Bright Arts."  
  
"But it can be learned."  
  
"Yes, but, we cannot split our priorities here, lest they attack when we are alone. I vote that we spy briefly first, get an idea of their movements, then attack quickly and stealthily, and as they regroup, we find our recruits. much more likely to come over to our side because we will have the first victory. After we deal the first blow, those who are not sure of coming to our side may make up their minds."  
  
" Wait a minute. I get what you are saying and see the logic in it, but are you telling me you weren't born short?"  
  
"No, I was not. James, you would remember. It happened during the few years when Minerva left to study advanced transfiguration and came back to teach. Dumbledore was so abashed with it happening that he gave me a job on the spot as soon as I completed my schooling. I gained so much knowledge that years later, when you went under the spell with Dumbledore, James, I had a fascination about your background and I began looking in to it. But, now, to tell you a story that I should have told long before. James, I did not really try to curse my warts away on my abdomen and accidentally shorten myself instead..."  
  
******  
  
Rain poured through the window. Horace peered through it, showing a vague, mist-filled view of the eastern side of the lake. He headed down with a sigh to the dungeons, for the 4th year Gryffindors Double Potions lesson with the Slytherins.  
  
Professor Callahan announced, "Today we will begin work on a Concealing Potion. A Concealing Potion hides one object inside another, after complex steps. Today you will be making a simple shrinking solution, which must stew for three nights in order to proceed. After you have finished that, we will go over the finer aspects of how one goes about making and using a Concealing Potion. Mind you be careful; with the extra ingredients we'll be putting in, the shrinking solution stage of the potion is irreversible.  
  
Professor Callahan was one of the few wizards that graduated as outstanding from the house of Slytherin. He began putting the students in to "potion pairs" as he called them, and casually said, "Severus, will you please assist Horace over in the back. I think your expertise in this class will help him better." He beamed benignly.  
"Of course." Snape muttered, but, he paused a moment, apparently to stifle the urge to fling beetle dung in his face. He plopped his materials down next to Flitwick, sitting in the very back.  
  
"I don't need your help." Horace grumbled.  
  
"Well, who said I wanted to give it?"  
  
"As the cauldrons around them began to simmer, the two haplessly began preparing theirs. Once it was good and going, Flitwick remarked,  
  
" See?! I'm perfectly capable of making a simple potion and adding a few extra materials to it."  
  
"Good for you, squidcrap."  
  
"Well, at least I can play Quidditch, and be the seeker on the winning house last year." Their hatred was pure and obvious.  
  
"Without talent."  
  
"Excuse me?! I have talent!"  
  
" More like excessive height."  
  
"My 6-foot 2-inch has absolutely nothing to do with it. I have so much talent that even if I was short I could play seeker on the Gryffindor team."  
  
"Oh, really?" Snape whispered. "We'll see about that."  
  
In a whirl of motion, Flitwick was thrown violently in to the cauldron, with only a small splash, due to Snape's careful direction of where he shoved Flitwick. Horace sputtered, but, before he could say anything, Snape threatened him.  
  
"If you tell what really happened, I'll report to the Headmaster that you've been sneaking down to Hogsmeade to gamble. You know they'll throw you out for that. Yes-" he caught the surprised and furitive look on Flitwick's face- "I know about that." He hauled Flitwick up out of the cauldron. He was- only about 4 feet tall! Snape muttered,  
  
"Priori hydratio." Flitwick was instantly dry. "Now, you'll stick to the story that you tried to curse a wort off your abdomen and accidentally shortened yourself insead, or there wil be heck to pay." Snape even picked up Flitwick's wand, pointed it against the wall, and said a well-used curse for students to attempt removing unsightly body characteristics. It made a loud popping sound. Everyone looked up. There were gasps. Severus was turned away from Horace, pretending to be busy.  
  
"Flit-"  
  
"Oh my-"  
  
"What the devil?!"  
  
"Horace!"  
  
"What happened, Horace?!" Professor Callahan demanded.  
  
"I...I..." Snape turned around at that moment.  
  
"What did you do?! I was just about to add the horned toad bile! Wait!" He paused for dramatic effect. "Don't tell me? Did you try to curse something off of you?!" Flitwick looked ready and willing to up and decapitate Severus.  
"Ye-Yes. A wart. On my abdomen." He answered very softly.  
  
"My goodness, Horace, is that what happened?! We must get you up to Doctor Garner immediately!"  
  
Without waiting for anything, he himself shuffled Horace off to the ward, lecturing him about the dangers of underage magical cosmetic surgery.  
  
Flitwick thought to himself,  
  
"You're right, Snape. There will be heck to pay."  
  
******  
  
"Now, then, since I finished telling you the escapade of my height, we can finish discussing where each side stands. First off, James' power lies solely in analyzing the Dark One's strengths and hitting him with countering spells powered by the combination of his origins. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has his Dark Spells, but James has an unconscious knowledge of them, due to his Slytherin background, and how to block and protect himself from them, from Gryffindor. Our attacks, well, I... I... think our best bet may be to make stabs when we can, I fear this is a battle we may have to only defend, not win."  
  
"You seem very informed on how to handle this war from our side, and I praise you for that. I think you should be appointed cadvridoc with James." Minerva commented.  
  
"Cadvridoc?" James questioned, his vocabulary not extended enough to know that term.  
  
"It means a war-leader, in the language of those long-ago descended from the Gauls and Celtics [A/N: For you who recognize the word, it predominantly used in Katherine Kerr's Deverry series.]." McGonagall explained.  
  
"Oh. I see. I agree then."  
  
Just then, the door opened. Hagrid stormed in.  
  
"I hate to interrupt you, Professors and Headmaster, but there's been another murder."  



	3. The First Duel

****

Chapter 3...  
The First Duel  
  
A/N: Another chapter emerges from the depths of my computer. Sorry for the year-long hiatus! Not that I think anyone was breathlessly anticipating my next release. If you were, I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience, and I'm most hopefully back for good [or at least to finish this story]. I own nothing but any special names/characters I invented. They are all JK Rowling's [bless her... and come out with the 5th book already!!!], or, in the case of Jo Gilles [see special disclaimer where she comes in], Tropical Fishy's. She is an amazing writer. Check out _The Flower and the Stag, _and its sequel, _Just as Long as We're Together_. That's where I'm taking Jo from. Read them, they're good!! Thanks, and read on!!!   
  
Rushing down the hallways of the school, though not without first taking his daily concoction of Polyjuice potion to retain his appearance of Dumbledore, James followed Hagrid to the empty Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, where the real Moony lay dead. It was most obviously the real Moony because his fake eye and prosthesis were missing.  
"So who's the culprit?" Hagrid boomed. "'Ere's the dirty bugger's wand!"  
"No. I'm afraid that must be Moony's. If I'm not wrong, it will also register the last spell performed by it is the one that killed my friend." Indeed, the wand showed The Killing Curse when "Priorio Incantra" was uttered upon it. "Wizards and witches with enough Dark Power can use anyone's wand for their evil purposes."  
"What shall we do with the body?" Minerva asked. "None of the students are aware of this impostment [A/N: I don't think that's a word but you know what I'm getting at here...]."  
" We simply bury it. Moony's impostor will not be foolish enough to try and assume his shape again, and Alastyr had no living relations." James answered her.  
"Wot's this?" Hagrid inquired, standing up suddenly from where he had been stooping. He held out a short, stubby, mass of flesh, undeniably a pale and wrinkled finger that was disgustingly still oozing blood. James stared. It was the unmistakable clue he had been waiting for, though it looked like his enemies had taunted it in front of his face.  
James answered,   
"It's Pettigrew's."  
"What?!" Professor McGonagall screeched.  
"He wanted to show us that he still can elude us..."  
"What's that supposed to mean?" McGonagall shot back, but James was staring into space, remembering another time quite like this one...  
  
******  
  
Jo Gilles [A/N: This character is entirely Tropical Fishy's. Please don't hurt me physically or financially. I think she's a great character in the story and I wanted to have her in my fic. Thanks!] and James crept through the offices of the Unspeakables in the Ministry of Magic headquarters, army-style. Even when James stubbed his toe on a chipped coffee mug, they could not utter a sound. As they reached the room occupied by Helga Prewett, they heard hushed voices inside. In the distance, a clock chimed the witching hour.  
"Have you gotten the directory?" one of the voices whispered.  
"Yes, my love," a male voice answered. Thrilled at their victory over the Ministry, the two figures embraced passionately. Halfway through their snogging, Jo risked a glance at James and raised her eyebrow.   
"Now!" he mouth, carefully. She nodded with caution in response. They leapt up, rushed in through the threshold of the office, and disarmed the two very bewildered Lestranges. A string of curses came out of their mouths, but they were held tightly by hexes uttered by James and Jo, trained Hit Wizards from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Their bodies totally petrified, James said,  
"Mobilicorpus," and the two bodies floated out of the building, flanked by the two Aurors-in-training.   
Once back inside the Auror compound, department head Alastyr Moody congratulated James and Jo on their first successful capture of Death Eaters. Simon and Mercedes Lestrange had been looking for a magical directory of all of the known giants in the wizarding world, found only in the top secret offices of the Ministry administrative building.   
"What you did today was highly commendable," Moody expressed as the two criminals were hauled off. "Unfortunately, it will be years before enough "gathered evidence" and the waiting period in the laws will allow them to be tried and sent off packing to Azkaban. However, this will be an excellent first step in your careers as Aurors." The two beamed. "Good work to you. You are dismissed for tonight, but be prepared to be at work at 2pm tomorrow."  
James wished Jo goodnight and apparated home to Godric's Hollow, where Lily was waiting for him. Though her job at Wenwick's Store of Charmed Offices was long over for the night, she always stayed home for James, no matter how late he arrived home.  
"Busy night, Prongs?"  
"As always, my lily of the valley." Though their nicknames for each other were used by everyone, they still used them together at home. He curled up on the sofa, and was asleep before she could even bring him his mug of hot chocolate. Sighing, she set the cup down and snuggled up next to him, enjoying that familiar scent he always had about him, of nothing in particular, but lovely just the same. He woke up, and pulled her closer to him. Giggling, she kissed him on the nose, and then on the lips, and pulled the blanket over them both.  
  
When James arrived for work later that afternoon, he received some disturbing news. A memo taped on his desk read that a memorial service would be held the next day for the Prewetts. Surprised and shocked, he leapt over to Jo's cubicle.  
"Did you hear about... this?" he asked anxiously. Jo nodded seriously.  
"Another Dark Mark, another dead family."  
"They really decided to take out every bit of the Prewetts, or at least they tried to..."  
"We're not safe anymore then, I reckon..."  
"No. James, do you still love Lily?"  
"Every day of my lucky life, I thank my stars that she is with me." James sighed.  
"Cut it out with the poet crap. You always were a sap at it, getting Sirius to write it for you..." she winced, and trailed off.   
"It's ok, Jo, it's ok."  
With a toss of her raven black hair, she thrust forward saying, " That's all in the past. I'm done mourning over the man I once loved..."  
"But you've got to go into hiding." She continued.  
"You mean the Fidelius Charm?"  
"Yes. Go see Flitwick about it."  
  
At the memorial service the next day, Jo stood with James, Lily, and Peter Pettigrew as they listened to the speakers talking about the lives of the Prewetts.   
"None of this matters," she hissed. "Unless we stop sitting here and crying, we need to be out doing something. If we don't soon we'll be sitting at memorial services every day as He kills more good people." Jo went on. She was given some dark looks.  
Lily said,  
"Jo, stop being so brave. We're all scared here. Let these people grieve, or their fears will only get bigger. You needed time when..." she trailed off but it was too late. They all remembered the time when Jo got the message at school that her family had been killed by the Dark Side. She had cried for days, until Sirius had- stop! Don't think about Sirius! Why was it that being at a funeral made everyone think of all the dead people they had ever know, or been close to.   
Just then, as the reverend was announcing the final prayers, a loud shot rang through the air, and a commotion was raised. Sweeping though the air on their brooms like the evil monkeys in _The Wizard of Oz_, Death Eaters poured over the cemetery clearing and began throwing hexes and curses down at the crowd below. A panic ensued. James and Jo, along with any of the other wizards and witches that had advanced training in the defense against the dark arts from the Ministry began regrouping and retaliating, but they were soon being targeting with Unforgivable curses. Screams echoed loudly in the cemetery, headstones blew apart, and the ground became littered with people not buried in graves. As soon as they had come however, the Death Eaters left. James marveled at the fact that Voldemort wouldn't even respect a service for the dead, even one he had been the cause of. As He rushed over to Lily to see if she was ok, he found her staggering around, vomiting, a victim of the Hurling Hex in the most literal sense.   
"Are you ok?" he held her tight.  
"I'm-fine," she coughed out. "Squeezing-me-too-hard."   
"Oh." He let her go and she fell to the ground. Despite the circumstances, she kicked him in the shins and he collapsed next to her. They barely suppressed laughter, but managed to do so. Jo ran over to them.  
"Are you two all right?" She asked alarmingly.  
"Fine," they answered in conjunction. The love between them ran across their faces as they looked into each others eyes."  
"Typical." Jo said. "Just typical. They're surrounded by the dead, the decaying, the injured and the fearing, and all they can think about is how much they love to be with each other." She almost laughed herself, in spite of everything. Then, thinking of something, she turned back.  
"Where's Peter?" They all looked around. He was gone.   
"Has he been... killed?" Lily asked with a quiver.   
"No... look!" James found Peter's handkerchief lying on the ground, a cheap one like those found in a common store.   
"Was he kidnapped? Taken prisoner? Hostage?" Jo wondered aloud.   
"Wouldn't he have yelled for help? Alerted everyone that he was in trouble? He wouldn't just go with them, now would he?" James questioned.  
"I just don't know..." Jo said, her dark eyes sending concerns throughout all of their minds.  
  
Later that evening, after all of those at the memorial service had checked in at the Hospital of Magical Maladies, and after those in the ministry had filed extensive paperwork about the attack in all departments that it applied to, Jo came over to James' desk, littered with folders.  
"Have you talked to Flitwick yet?" she asked him.   
"No, I haven't. It's only been a day, Jo!" he snapped. "Here, I'm sorry. I'm just not that important. Why would Voldemort want to take me out?"  
"It's been one more day where he could have killed you. Molly Prewett wasn't that important, and look what happened to her, a girl of 13! You just never know what You-Know-Who might do, or why he goes after the people he does!"  
"All right, all right, I'll make a point of trying to reach him soon."  
"Good."  
"Have you?"  
"No. I'm not in love, I'm not strong, or cunning; the Ministry can last without me; there are more important people that need the Fidelius Charm than I do."  
"Like me?!"  
"Yes, like you."  
"Bullshit," he answered her.  
"Well, I've got to go on patrol, have a nice night, contact Flitwick ASAP, say hello to Lily for me, bye!" She changed the subject cheerfully.  
"Bye," he said gloomily, too absorbed in his thoughts about who Peter really was and what he might be doing to notice her leaving much. He regretted it later, for it was the last conversation he ever had with Jo. On patrol that evening, Jo and her partner, an older man by the name of Steve Dahlgren, were killed by a Death Eater apprentice.  
  
******  
  
"James? James?!" Flitwick shrilly sounded into his ear. "We've got work to do." James snapped out of his reverie of better times, times of love and passion and laughter. For months his work fighting the Evil One, preparing forces and leading Hogwarts kept him busy, his mind too cramped to dwell on his one true beloved, the only one he could ever truly feel for. He didn't want to be hurt again, and he knew that getting close to someone else would only put her in danger of being abducted by Death Eaters. He was so lonely, though.   
  
He was walking through Hogwart halls one day before winter break, the students all anticipating the holidays. Snow swirled lightly outside as he passed a window overlooking the South side of the premises. On the pretext of checking to make sure all of her supplies  
for teaching were stocked, James walked up to Professor Trelawney's tower and knocked on the trapdoor. A silvery rope ladder snaked down through the opening and a soft voice announced,  
"Hello? Wo comes to visit me in the physical presence?"  
"It is only I, Professor Dumbledore, come to see you."  
"Oh. How nice of you to come. Please, please come in and sit yourself down- James."  
"Please, Sibyll, not where there may be students." Yet he still entered the stuffy room and disdainfully sat himself down in one of the overstuffed chairs, almost relaxing until a fresh wave of incense swept under his nose, intoxicating him. He coughed.  
"You are sick, your aura plainfully says so," she said, her misty voice barely above a whisper.  
"Please, I am fine. I came here to see if you were in need of any supplies for the second term, to keep you, er, up-to-date, in a matter of speaking." He became painfully aware of the amount of perfume and glittery jewelry she was wearing as she bent forward, her eyes batting in a way he assumed was seductively in her mind. It looked rather to him as if she was trying not overpower the urge to cry. Ever since he had revealed himself to the professors as not truly the famed Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts, but rather as James Potter, Sibyll Trelawney had been descending from her high perch into the main life of the school, if only to see him more. She had never been married, and James had the revolting feeling that she was trying to come on to a man some thirty years younger than her. He felt slightly nauseated.   
"I need nothing, if only someone to keep me warm at night in this drafty tower during the winter." James looked shocked. This was being genuinely blunt!   
"I d-d-don't q-quite know what you're implying, Sibyll, b-b-but if I do I don't think that's p-polite," he stammered out quickly. It had been years since he had last been hit on. What was she thinking? But, then again, years up in this tower, alone and isolated for periods of time would make anyone a bit deranged after long enough. She shed one of her many shawls, and draped another one around his neck. He felt his flesh crawl at her, but at the same time he had been lonely for all these years since Lily...  
The sex was rough, to say the least. Gross and uneven might be more appropriate. Though it had been years since he had last made love to a woman, James was still quite good at it, though he never kissed her once. This is nothing like Lily, who lit him on fire, for Sibyll left him almost unaroused at all. When he was done, he put a Sleeping spell on her, and she tried to pull herself into his arms as she began to snore. She failed miserably. Dressing quickly and leaving the tower before she woke up, James began to hurry down the hall, brushing his unruly black hair down flat. Wait- black hair? With a shudder of despair, he realized that while he was dwelling over the most remorseful thing he had just done, he totally forgot about the fact that his daily dose of Polyjuice potion had worn off. He dashed into an empty broom closet, breathing heavily. How was he supposed to get back to his office and take the potion again? If anyone who didn't already know about him found out, the secret weapon against Voldemort would be useless and revealed. He couldn't just Apparate back to his rooms- the spells protecting the school prevented that. There was no fireplace in the broom closet, and he had no Floo Powder. It was only just around 6 o'clock. With a sigh, he realized that he would have to go back to Professor Trelawney's classroom, grab some Floo Powder from her stores and reach his office before she woke up again- hopefully. He was so ashamed of how low he had sunk, he didn't feel that he could face her again. He just might vomit. Dashing through the halls and crouching in the shadows, he made his way back up to the North Tower's pinnacle. Up through the trapdoor he went, unlatching the opening with a whisper of "Alohamora." He rushed over to her desk, through open a drawer, and-  
"Is that you again, dear? Back for more of this, already?" His heart sunk and his stomach churned. He had no wishes of incurring the wrath of someone who could spill his dirty little secret to the whole school.  
"I wish I was, but I have important business to attend to in my office and have only a need of some Floo Powder to get down there immediately.   
"But you'll be back?" she asked, her voice sounding both hopeful and sickening.  
"Oh, oh, yes- I will," he wrenched out, wishing immediately that he could have thought of an excuse to end their brief relationship here and now. "I've- I've got to go." And with that, he sent himself packing to his office. Once there, and after changing back into the Dumbledore-impostor, James practically ran down to the Great Hall, eager to get to the two things that could get his mind off of what he had done- food, most importantly, and people that weren't trying to seduce the old man he appeared to be. When he reached the head table, McGonagall looked up at him, questions in her eyes.  
"Where have you been?" she asked, somewhat suspicious. Could she tell? James thought, panicked.  
"Uhh, sleeping, Minerva." Her eyes narrowed and she gave him one of those looks she reserved for students she felt may have cheated on a homework assignment. Mustering all of his strength, her gathered an impassive but yet serious Dumbledore face that clearly told her to stop wondering. They stared each other down in a wrench of wills for what seemed to him as a long time, but was really only a matter of seconds. Finally, she averted her eyes.  
"Tripe, Albus?" she ask pleasantly, in an almost all-too-cheerful voice. The conversation was not soon forgotten by either of them, though they put it behind themselves in the face of both their daily difficulties and their challenges against a growing Dark Arts side, poised and ready to fight. A battle was coming soon, and every one in the wizarding world could smell it with fear.  
  
Not long before the Easter holidays, a mass slaughtering by some unknown force- mainly, Death Eaters- nearly made unicorns in the Forbidden Forest extinct. Indeed, when Hagrid talked to his giant spider friend living there, Aragog, the ancient arachnid reported that inter-species communication was down to almost nothing. A centaur had not been seen for weeks, and they feared the worst, but Hagrid could find no bodies.  
A week later, the body of a centaur was sent to Hogwarts- a male, by the name of Firenze, along with a note bearing the cryptic words "We are coming." It could be avoided no longer. Dumbledore sent every student home quickly with an armed Ministry guard on the Hogwarts Express. He advised anyone in Hogsmeade who valued their life to flee immediately, and called all of his allies to him at the school.  
A few mornings later, daybreak dawned bright. When all of the castle's odd assortment of inhabitants- dwarves, goblins, centaurs, gnomes and the like had risen, they were awakened to the sight of a large black mass flying to meet them, seen only by wizarding eyes. No matter how evil Voldemort was, he wanted to capture the wizarding world first before he launched into taking over the entire planet. He did not want to alert the Muggles, but the Ministry- acting wisely under the orders of Dumbledore, aka James, had already alerted any of the higher-ups in the biggest countries who were smart enough to listen and believe. Many were, but still some were not.  
As Voldemort led the charge on to Hogwarts Castle, the air became a bedlam of spells, curses, hexes, charms and everything destructive under the sun. Bodies flew everywhere as the two bodies took their positions. Riding on hippogriff, James took to the skies looking not for Voldemort but rather for Peter Pettigrew. This was one score he had to settle first. With a cry of "For Lily! For Harry!" he took off in search. It was not hard to find him, cowering in the back of the battle lines, unprepared and unwilling to fight for his "true cause." James yelled loudly, a chilling tone, and began attacking in a duel so fiercely that he could barely contain himself. Peter was taken by surprise, and could barely block the blows, let alone strike at James himself. Within a couple of minutes, he was dead. A hollow sort of triumph filled James, for he had just killed a former friend to avenge the deaths of the two he loved most in the world, his wife and son. Before he could dwell, he was brought back to his senses by a band of flying warlocks, bent on his destruction. James fought without fatigue, pausing only to scout the conditions of the battle. He could see none of his fellow professors in sight, and it looked as if his side was suffering heavy losses. He knew he should pull back, but retreating in the first battle would not bode well for morale or for pulling in potential allies that had not yet chosen sides. Besides, all of his allies had pledged to fight to the death, so why shouldn't they. With a toss of his mental head, he realized that he was being selfish. Not all of the brave men and women, creatures and humans alike had nothing to lose as he did. They had families and loved ones. Putting a hand on his wand to call the retreating sound, he was about to haul back when a melodious fog sound noise was echoed. Dark Arts followers swooped around and began sweeping back to wherever they were encamped, for no reason apparent to James. With feeble cries of both victory and mourning for comrades lost, Dumbledore's army flew back on whatever magical beast they were riding upon or had conjured up to the castle.  
  
Days later, after the bulk of the injured had either died or recovered from their wounds enough for the rest of the army to stop acting as nurses to them, James sat outside near the lake where the giant squid's grave lay, freshly dug. It had been killed cruelly, unable to defend itself in any magical way. The students would all be disappointed, but they would be gone from the grounds until the next school year, at best. James was determined to keep the students learning, to create a new batch of wizards and witches soundly opposed to the Dark Arts and ready to defend and fight for the Bright ones, in classic Dumbledore fashion. Sometimes it amazed James just how much he had actually developed into Dumbledore over the years at Hogwarts.  
James had decided to bury Pettigrew, for he both pitied and despised his former comrade. In a private act inside the Forbidden Forest, a mound was piled as a carne over Pettigrew's body and a blank headstone marked the spot where he lay, the resting spot of a lifelong coward.   
_  
  
******  
  
_James stood in front of their graves, blinking furtively, trying not to collapse, though he was alone and no one would have seen him. How was it that those he cared for the most were gone from him, both killed by the same man that only he himself could kill. James could almost smile over the irony life had handed him. Though he could still only ever love Lily, he found himself gradually ebbing away from his own wishes of death to be with him again. He knew she would always be waiting for him, and that if they had an eternity of time to spend together anyway, she would be disappointed in him if he abandoned his job as a leader in the here and now only for her. It would be selfish. And Harry... well, he could just see Harry now, happy at last to knowingly be with at least one of his parents. Life had in a way gotten easier for James as Dumbledore since Harry died because he wouldn't have to worry about showing favoritism, or Harry finding out about his true identity. It had been hard not to show emotion too much so many times, when he gave Harry the invisibility cloak, when he won the Quidditch cup, when he confronted him about the Mirror of Erised... Yes, it was much easier knowing Harry was finally totally safe from Voldemort. He sighed, the sigh of a man much older than he actually was, and bent down to leave a flower by Lily's grave and a miniature broom by Harry's. They at least knew who they really were. Trapped in two worlds of reality, James felt for now that he would always be an impostor no matter who he made himself to be. Before he left the cemetery, he paused to read their tombstones just once more.  
  
_Harry J. Potter  
He grabbed our hearts  
As he flew through life  
Always a winner  
1981-1996  
  
Lily E. Potter  
Fire in the Sun  
Flower of our Hearts  
May you rest peacefully  
True to yourself  
1957-1982  
  
  
_A/N: Well, did you like it? Like it or not, please review. I'm a starving author that lives off of reviews. No, Juanita, not really... Thanks to all of my reviewers and all of you that waited patiently [I don't think anyone did] and then actually read the last chapter instead of not reading it just to get back at me. I'm thinking this is the end of it, but if I get enough reviews [key word there- enough] asking for more, then I'll add to it. Thank you, thank you, thank you!  



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